Asian Equities Follow U.S. Stocks Lower

Asian stocks fell for the first time in three days, after a decline in U.S. equities, as investors watched developments in Greece’s bailout talks and consumer shares retreated.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.1 percent to 151.63 as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge advanced 0.9 percent in the past two days as China cut interest rates for the third time in six months and investors bet a rebound in U.S. employment wouldn’t lead to early interest-rate increases. The rally boosted valuations on the Asian benchmark index to 14.4 times estimated earnings on Monday, compared with 17.8 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The U.S. equity measure slid 0.5 percent Monday in New York.

“Markets are increasingly nervous given where valuations are,” Matthew Sherwood, Sydney based head of investment strategy at Perpetual Ltd., which manages about $21 billion, said by phone. “Greece is going to be one of the markets’ key focuses this week. It has the potential to drag market sentiment.”

Bloomberg

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